Part 3 : Government and the law citizenship test

In Australia, when it comes to who's leading, it's actually the Prime Minister who leads the country and makes sure government policies are on track. Then, you have the King of Australia, who currently is His Majesty King Charles III - Australia still goes with a king. You can learn more about this in the Australian citizenship test.

But, since the King can't be everywhere at once, he receives assistance from people like the Governor-General at the national level, and governors in each state, who help him; performing ceremonial duties and acting on behalf of him. It's pretty interesting because although these governors are doing the king's work, they don't make any new laws.

That job belongs to Parliament, where laws get introduced, debated, and voted on. Parliament has a lot of elected people who are supposed to represent what Australians want. You can find more information about this in the Government and Law in Australia section.

Now, something spectacular about Australia is that way back on January 1, 1901, all the colonies decided to join together and become the Commonwealth of Australia. This is an important part of Australia's history.

Before they did, each colony was mostly being independent, which mostly made it so they did not have a strong defense together. It's essentially important because these different parts of Australia now can make their own laws, thanks to the Constitution recognizing them as states.

What about people living in the Northern Territory? They have an Administrator appointed to successfully deal with things, which is an unusual setup compared to the other states. Judges in Australia have the job of interpreting and applying the laws that Parliament makes, without getting into the business of making any laws themselves.

In regards to laws, they're decided in this manner through a parliamentary process that essentially considers what Australians think could be changes for the better; this is marvelous because it means ordinary people get to have a say in how the country is run, especially by voting. This is part of Australia's democratic beliefs and rights.

When it comes to voting, places called federal electorates are used, and how many people live in a location determines its size. For those interested in politics, knowing that 150 members get elected to the House of Representatives might be worth your while. You can test your knowledge on this in the citizenship practice test.

Sometimes, yet rarely so, you might wonder about Australia's identity, their international sports teams have had a pretty big role in shaping that.

That is it. And, just so you understand, there can possibly be gratification in your knowing that every Australian, who cares about their country, has the power to influence its direction through participation; that accounts for why everyday people are pretty crucial players in the Australian political system. This is an important aspect of Australian values.

To learn more about these topics, you can watch Australian citizenship videos or take a mock test online.